TE KOHA

Suicide Prevention Collaboration

Te Koha was developed during 2016/17 to work with all organisations in Te Waipounamu working in the suicide prevention space. The project takes a collaborative approach to help address the disproportionate number of Māori deaths by suicide. The work is being developed with an emphasis on the Whanau Ora approach.

The main objective of Te Koha project is to address the risk of suicide and self-harm in Te Waipounamu and to empower whānau to be involved in discussions and solutions. “Many of us are impacted by suicide and we need to work together with whānau to address this, our approach is by listening to one another and then looking for the best solutions so we can make an impact” says its coordinator, Raniera Dallas.

“Te Koha is about sharing the responsibility and utilising our collective force to address the issues, improve communication and collaboration to create a platform to share experiences, resources, specialist skills and knowledge with whānau and being innovative in our approaches.”